Theological/philosophical/cultural/spiritual thoughts about God and the Real Jesus.

Thursday, June 07, 2018

Are There Demons in Detroit?

Detroit skyline, taken from Windsor, Ontario

A pastor from Detroit who has been reading my blog contacted me. He wanted to meet and talk about spiritual warfare and healing. We got together at my office, AKA Panera Bread.We looked at Luke 9:1-6.

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick....

So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

I explained that the term "kingdom of God" is not a place, but refers to the rule, or reign, of God. (See Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom.)The Twelve were given "power" (dunamis) and "authority" (exousia) to "drive out all demons." This is important, since biblically demons challenge the rule and reign of God. Power and authority were given to the Twelve "to cure diseases." As this happens, the gospel of God's kingdom is easier to proclaim, since the healings indicate the rule and reign of God, now, in this place.The method is:Deliver,Heal,Proclaim that our God reigns.I took another sip of Panera dark roast. The pastor then asked, "Do you think there are any demons in Detroit?"Yes, I do. Of course.Paul counseled that our real battle is not against "flesh," but against "the powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil." (See here.)How absurd to think this struggle no longer exists. How odd to think it doesn't exist at all, and Jesus and Paul were misguided. (See Reviving Old Scratch: Demons and the Devil for Doubters and the Disenchanted, by Richard Beck.)The Good News is that our God reigns. God's reign is especially seen in defeating dark angels and healing people. And Detroit is not the only place demons live. (See Greg Boyd, who has written extensively about the demonic. For a brief introduction, see Boyd, "Do Angels and Demons Really Exist?")